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Our theme for 2022 is “Begin Again”
This series is called, “Believe Again”
You may have already believed the gospel, but it is time to believe again.
We began with “Believe in Jesus”
Then we talked about believing in spiritual reality.
We talked about how an encounter with Jesus leads to transformation, living in both realities.
We talked about life - remember the great circle of life - God’s life in us and flowing through us?
We talked about light and how light displaces darkness and exposes what is hidden.
We talked about truth and freedom.
- that knowing the truth about God and about yourself sets you free from guilt and condemnation.
We talked about how Jesus shows us the Father as a Good Shepherd who loves us and who has a plan to redeem us.
We talked about God’s power and how true power is found in obeying God.
last week was about believing and abiding.
Abiding is consistently dwelling on love, hope and joy.
We are getting toward the end of our series.
We will cover another three chapters today, Jesus’ prayer, his arrest and crucifixion.
Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth was to to go to the cross.
We see hints of it all through Johns Gospel.
We know that Jesus had to die on the cross to break the curse of sin over humanity.
Mankind had become entirely selfish, violent and corrupt.
Jesus had to do the opposite, lay his life down, to take back the authority that mankind was given on earth.
You might think that Jesus’ goal was the cross, but there was another goal beyond that one - to glorify God.
Jesus is constantly saying that His purpose is to glorify God.
That is our purpose as well.
The Westminster shorter catechism (1647) is famous for its first question and answer.
Quest. 1.
What is the chief end of man?
Ans. 1. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
What is glory?
Glory is the full manifestation or realization of God’s goodness.
God’s glory is his goodness, His name and his attributes.
To glorify God is to see those things and to make them known.
The glory of God is the splendor and brilliant beauty that shines through all of the divine attributes but is especially evident in the crucified and risen Christ.
Jesus showed us the goodness and beauty of God against the backdrop of His own suffering and death.
Through Jesus, we see what real love is and God’s love for us.
Now our goal is to reflect the same.
Sure, we might encounter suffering too - Jesus as much as promised that we would.
But suffering is not the goal - glorifying God and enjoying His goodness is the goal.
As we walk through these chapters, we will be paying close attention to how Jesus glorified God and how we can glorify God.
Glorify God with what Jesus gave you.
John 17 is Jesus’ High Priestly prayer.
He is praying for us, His followers and His follower’s followers.
The irony is that Jesus’ darkest hour is also going to be His most glorious.
What Jesus is about to do is going to re-establish His authority over heaven and earth.
But the rest of the prayer is not about Him, but about us.
Glory is not just about being great, but making other people greater.
You can live your whole life for your own glory, but will anyone remember you?
What about the person who lives to lift other people up, to make them better people?
That person will be remembered for the glory that they gave to others!
Jesus wants to be remembered for what He gave.
As I read this chapter, what jumped out at me was the things that Jesus gave us.
The things that Jesus gave us are what we use to glorify God.
He gave us His name.
Just as Moses on the mountain was hidden in the Rock while God passed in front of him and declared His name, Jesus manifested (made known) God’s name and His attributes.
What that means is that unlike Moses and the Israelites, who were never allowed to actually say God’s name, you can know God!
Agnostics are people who, though they may believe in God, believe that God cannot be known.
Of all the gods in the world, it all sort of blurs together.
Which one of them is the real God, or what is He like?
Who knows!
But you can know God, because He is fully revealed in Jesus.
God looks like Jesus.
And to the extent that you look like Jesus, He look like you too!
We are his representatives.
We bear His name.
We bear His image.
We belong to Him.
We reflect His glory.
Knowing who you are in Christ is what gives God glory.
He gave us His Word.
We talked last time about how we shouldn’t be surprised if the world hates us, because the world is in rebellion against God.
Notice that Jesus is not praying to have us taken out of the world, but to be preserved in the world.
Jesus is praying that we would be able to do our job, which is to finish his work.
We are entrusted with his Word.
What is God’s Word? - The Bible?
Yes, it’s the Bible and its more that the Bible.
The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself - it’s the written Word.
Jesus Himself is the living Word, that makes the scripture make sense.
But we also have the Holy Spirit who is the indwelling Word.
The Holy Spirit is the Sprit of truth.
The Spirit helps us recognize the truth.
The Spirit helps us apply truth to our lives.
The Spirit helps us separate truth from error.
Being entrusted with the Word of God is not just about doctrine and ideas, it is about the way that we live our lives which proves that God’s way is best.
What glorifies God is more than just knowing His Word and speaking His Word - its living His Word, especially in the midst of a corrupt world.
He gave us His glory.
When I preached on “believe in the Father” I said that you are in union with God through Christ.
The religious leaders wanted to stone Jesus because He said that He was One with the Father.
Now Jesus is explicitly saying something that He implied in chapter 10.
Not only are Jesus and the Father one, but He brings us into the mix.
No, we are not the third member of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit is that!
And we, both individually and corporately, are how the Holy Spirit does what He does.
We experience the glory of God through the Holy Spirit.
We manifest God’s attributes - no, we are not all knowing and everywhere present.
But God’s character is being formed in us by the Spirit - that’s the fruit of the Spirit.
And God’s power is manifest in us, both personally and corporately - those are the gifts of the Spirit.
A Holy Spirit filled church are the representatives of God’s presence on earth carrying out Jesus mission until He returns.
So how do we do that, practically speaking?
Glorify God with what life gives you.
We live in a fallen world.
This world does not always reflect God’s goodness and glory.
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